[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H13810-H13811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JOHN SIDNEY ``SID'' FLOWERS POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3470) to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 744 West Oglethorpe Highway in
Hinesville, Georgia, as the ``John Sidney `Sid' Flowers Post Office
Building''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3470
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. JOHN SIDNEY ``SID'' FLOWERS POST OFFICE BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 744 West Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville,
Georgia, shall be known and designated as the ``John Sidney
``Sid'' Flowers Post Office Building''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be
a reference to the ``John Sidney ``Sid'' Flowers Post Office
Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the
consideration of H.R. 3470, which names the postal facility in
Hinesville, Georgia, after John Sidney ``Sid'' Flowers. H.R. 3470 was
introduced by Representative Jack Kingston on September 4, 2007, and
was reported from the Oversight Committee on October 23 by a voice
vote. This measure has the support of the entire Georgia congressional
delegation.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. John Sidney Flowers was born December 22, 1931, in
Liberty County, Georgia. He served in the United States Army for 2
years before attending Mercer University and Mercer Law School in
Macon, Georgia. He was indeed an outstanding citizen, and I want to
commend Representative Kingston for moving to recognize his
contributions by naming this postal facility in his honor.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), the author of the
bill.
Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman from California and I thank the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his help in the committee and
Members of Congress for their support of this.
Sid Flowers, John Sidney Flowers, was a good friend of mine. He was a
friend of many people, as he had served in office for so many years in
the State of Georgia. His wife, Nan, is a friend; his daughters Kay and
Darcy have been friends over the years. It is just one of the great
families that does so much for a community and makes a community what
it is.
Sidney was actually the Solicitor General for Liberty County for over
32 years. This is the home of Fort Stewart, in Hinesville, Georgia, a
military town where there is lots of turnover. You need people who kind
of know the history of the community, and that was Sid Flowers. He did
so much for so many.
There are many times when people said they would be eating with Sid
Flowers, eating lunch, and a group of soldiers would come in who maybe
were new in town, maybe not. There are thousands of soldiers stationed
at Fort Stewart, and Sidney would quietly walk over to the cashier,
pick up the tab for the soldiers, pay for their lunch, and then ask the
cashier not to tell them who paid for it.
{time} 1745
That is the kind of guy he was.
Sydney was actually elected as a Republican, and many people know 35
years ago in the State of Georgia, there was almost a nonexistent
Republican Party. And to be elected as a Republican, you had to be a
pretty good guy, probably somebody who could get elected in either
party, and somebody who was liked and had support from both parties.
Yet in all cases, Sid Flowers was respected by everybody. Former
Democrat State representative, a Democrat mayor and also a Republican
at one time, Buddy DeLoach, has a letter about Sidney Flowers that I
will submit for the Record, as well as one from Sampie Smith who was a
great educator in Liberty County who has recently retired, made a run
for mayor himself. But great folks in a great town.
Sidney is what Sampie Smith actually described as one of those
Reader's Digest types, somebody who is memorable and inspirational to a
community. I will submit a number of things for the Record on Sidney
Flowers so we can move on to some other issues, but I just want to
thank this community for recognizing somebody of his caliber because I
had the privilege of knowing him. But I can say this unequivocally,
everybody in the Chamber would have liked him because he was someone
you could count on and deal with, one of those great community leaders
back home that we all have in our districts. I want to submit these
letters and a couple of other comments about Sidney, and thank the
committee.
The First District of Georgia lost a great man when John Sidney
``Sid'' Flowers died August 21, 2006. It was his work as a lawyer and
as the Solicitor General for Liberty County's State Court that allowed
him to serve his hometown professionally, but it was his kind, often
anonymous service to the people and the soldiers of Liberty County that
endeared him to so many in the military town of Hinesville, Georgia.
[[Page H13811]]
Sid Flowers was a Liberty County native who served in the U.S. Army
before heading to law school at Mercer. Although he was a top student
at Mercer Law and could have headed to Atlanta for the ``big money,''
he returned to Liberty County to work in his hometown. He served his
community as solicitor general for nearly four decades, but he was best
known for his pro bono legal advice. He gave of his legal knowledge and
expertise to the First Presbyterian Church and the church's school at
no charge.
Many of Sid's friends mention that it was not uncommon to go to a
restaurant with him, and Sid would pick up the tab for any soldiers who
happened to be eating in the restaurant at the time. He did this
anonymously, as he never wanted his gracious actions to be attributed.
Sid Flowers has been described as ``one of those classic Reader's
Digest types that folks wrote about being so memorable'' and ``an
inspiration for others to become involved in community service.'' The
military town of Hinesville, Georgia, lost one of its best when Sid
Flowers died last year. The true spirit of this man was exemplified by
his unpublished deeds, but I think its time we honor him publicly by
naming the United States Post Office on Oglethorpe Highway in
Hinesville, Georgia after John Sidney Flowers.
Hinesville, GA,
May 16, 2007.
To: Congressman Jack Kingston.
Dear Jack: I write to urge that the U.S. Post Office
Building in Hinesville be named for John Sidney Flowers.
Sidney was a lifelong resident of Hinesville and served this
community in many ways.
As the long time Solicitor of the state court, Sidney
displayed a unique ability to do justice in all cases he
handled. His calm, common sense approach to this difficult
job enabled him to make a tremendous contribution to the
criminal justice system.
Sidney's support for community activities and organizations
has been an inspiration for others to become involved in
community service. He always gave freely of his time and
money.
He was considered by many to be an ``old time'' lawyer. He
was known and trusted by everyone. Many families went to him
to settle or avoid disputes. He was a master at restoring
calm reason when tempers flared. He is the one we went to
when we had problems, and he always took time to help us find
solutions.
I believe the naming of the Post Office is fitting and
proper way to honor the memory of a man that did so much for
this community.
Sincerely,
Buddy DeLoach.
____
Hinesville, GA,
March 15, 2007.
Hon. Jack Kingston,
Rayburn HOB,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Kingston: I am writing about an unnamed
federal public building in Hinesville, Georgia and a man that
could and should be honored by that building being named for
him.
The United States Post Office on Oglethorpe Highway in
Hinesville has been open for several years now but remains
without a name. A person who richly deserves to be honored,
although he never would have thought so, is J. Sidney
Flowers.
I met Sidney and his gracious wife Nan when I was sent by
the United States Army to Fort Stewart and eventually started
teaching at the local public high school, Bradwell Institute,
with Mrs. Flowers. Nan's husband was one of those classic
Reader's Digest types that folks wrote about being so
memorable.
Sidney was a product of Liberty County and dedicated
himself to the community. He paid homage of his lineage by
serving on the Board of Directors for the Taylors' Creek
Cemetery Association for many years, Taylors' Creek was the
largest of the little towns that were obliterated with the
creation of Camp Stewart in 1940. Sidney was a graduate of
Bradwell Institute, a school that traces its heritage here in
Hinesville back to 1871. Sidney did very well in law school
at Mercer in Macon and could have gone to ``the big city''
and made ``big money'' but chose to return to his roots,
become a family man, and public servant. For almost four
decades he served as the Solicitor General of Liberty
County's State Court. He and Nan reared two wonderful and
beautiful daughters here, Kay and Darcey. And Sidney was so
much more than an elected official.
A veteran of the United States Army, Sidney proudly wore
his American Legionnaire's hat and Old Glory in his lapel. He
was a Shriner. He was so well respected as an elder of the
First Presbyterian Church that he is one of only six to be
identified as an Elder Emeritus. He gave his legal knowledge
and expertise pro bono to his church and that church's
Christian school.
Sidney was charitable to a fault and few but those that
were recipients knew about his largess and whenever possible
his gifts were anonymous. More than once I have seen him pay
the bill of a soldier at local restaurants all the while
telling the G.I.'s waitress that his beneficence was not be
attributed. His tall height and long gait that had served him
so well when he was a young student in Macon when he
officiated high school basketball tournaments, made him
easily identifiable as he made his way into and out of this
very building that I have written about above. It was not
unusual for people to go over to him to enjoy his wry sense
of humor or to seek his wise counsel. Hinesville and Liberty
County lost a great man last year when J. Sidney Flowers
passed away and now it is fitting and proper to pay tribute
to this giant of a man.
I would urge that you do what you can to have the local
post office named for J. Sidney Flowers.
Sincerely yours,
Sampie W. Smith.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3470.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge the passing of this bill to
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at
744 West Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville, Georgia, as the ``John
Sidney `Sid' Flowers Post Office Building''.
A native of Liberty County, Sid Flowers served in the U.S. Army
before attending law school at Mercer. Despite distinguishing himself
as a top scholar at Mercer, he opted not to pursue high profile law
firms in Atlanta. Instead he returned to his hometown where he served
the county as Solicitor General for nearly four decades. But his public
service did not end there. Mr. Flowers was best known for his pro bono
legal work, contributing his advice to the First Presbyterian Church
and the church's school at no charge.
Mr. Flowers not only gave back to the community professionally, but
also through his generous, often anonymous, contributions. His
munificence took many forms, whether it was through community service
or anonymously picking up the tab for soldiers dining at local
restaurants.
When Mr. Flowers passed on August 21, 2006, Liberty County lost the
consummate public servant. A kind and humble man, his passionate and
selfless commitment to his community and country undoubtedly deserves
tribute.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill to publicly
honor this man, not only for his public service, but for the intangible
generosity of his spirit.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3470.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________